Jump Start # 756

Psalms 22:11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near; For there is none to help.

This morning, I want to write once more about the tragic murder of children in Connecticut last week. Many have written on this. Many are suggesting all kinds of plans to prevent such evil acts from happening again. Tears have flowed. Hearts are crushed. We are sickened by the senseless acts of those who have no compass in their hearts and no thought of God in their souls.

Our passage today comes from the dark days when David was being pressed by his enemy. His cries seemed to unheard. His options were running low. He felt penned in and that death was near. Saul’s murderous hunt for David involved years, not weeks. David lived in fear. Saul nearly got to David on several occasions. Each time, God helped him. Each time, God was there for him. God had plans for David, plans that he didn’t fully grasp, and no one, not even Saul, was going to stand in the way of God’s plans. In Psalms 22 we find those dreadful words, “My God, My God…” that our Savior spoke from the cross hundreds of years later. Jesus felt, as David did, crushed by the enemy, options few, alone, and hurting –both on the inside and the outside.

We can feel that way as well. Turmoil in the family, church, or workplace, can leave us feeling crushed, fearful and without many options.

As sad as Psalms 22 is, what follows, is the powerful Psalms 23, “The Lord is my shepherd…He maketh me lie down…He leadeth me…He restores…” God is help. God is there.

Often, we are looking for help in the wrong direction. We are thinking that God will do something big and grand, when often times, the help of God comes from people right beside us. We are looking for God to solve the problem and instead He sends comfort in the form of brethren, Scriptures and kind acts.

What does all of this have to do with Connecticut? The attention is upon what one evil man did. One person. There were dozens, hundreds of others coming in the form of help. Good people with good hearts. Good was not stamped out that day. Good was not defeated. Evil did not outnumber good. Dark news, like that school shooting, can leave us thinking that there are more evil than good. We can feel defeated and conquered and like Elijah, hiding in the cave, we can feel that we are the only ones who are left. Not true. Across this land on Sunday there were thousands praying for the families in Connecticut. Aid, help and love continue to pour in. Good has not been crushed nor stamped out. This nation has shown time and again, when evil  rises up, so does the good. A perfect world would have no shootings. A perfect world would have no sin. A perfect world awaits us, not here, but Heaven.

I am thankful for the teachers that risked their lives in protecting those terrified children. I’m thankful for the police who without knowing the details of what was going on, rushed into that school. I’m thankful for a nation that looks with disgust and outrage at the criminal and sinful acts of one bad man. Liberal and conservative…Republican and Democrat…no one is approving of what happened. Our nation is not gone.  Hope is not vanished. I have seen signs in my hometown of Indiana, miles and miles away from Connecticut asking us to pray for the families. Signs, not on church buildings, but businesses. Folks don’t pray as much as they should, but they haven’t given up on prayer. And who are they praying to? God. Our nation, sinful as it is, hasn’t given up on God.

David felt like there was no one to help. There was. Not only did he have God, but he had a group of mighty men, 600 in number, who later would risk their lives to bring David a drink of water from a well in enemy territory. They offered more than once to strike down David’s enemies, but he would not allow that. David had help. His  help came from God.

Sometimes we feel like David. Why isn’t there someone to help. I know of a person who complained about that recently. The church was giving this person money. There were daily phone calls and text messages between this person and several elders and the preacher. Tons of encouragement was offered. Sometimes we don’t recognize help when it is there. Sometimes we want others to carry the load and to walk the path for us. Some things we have to do. That  is our job and our responsibility. Others can encourage us. Others can be there for us. Others can walk with us, but we still have to take the steps ourselves. Some don’t seem to get that. They want someone else to parent their kids, pay their bills, take care of their responsibilities and do what they are supposed to do. That can’t happen. That shouldn’t happen.

There is no one to help? Really? God is there. Brethren are there. The Scriptures are there. Help is around us, but the help won’t take over for us. Help will lift you up, dust off your britches, look you in the eyes and tell you that you can do it, and even give you a push, but you have to get back into the ring and fight your battles that God has before you. No one can do that. Crying that I have no help, often means, I am tired of the battle and I want someone else to fight it for me. Can’t happen. It’s your battle and you must fight it. Others are counting on you to win.

I am thankful for all the help—whether we talk about crushed families in Connecticut, broken hearts in Texas, sick families in Florida, or weary souls in Indiana. We are not alone. Good has not been stamped out. Evil has not won. Satan is not the victor. Not now. Not ever! The victory belongs to the Lord. It always has. Help comes from good hearts and good people who haven’t given up.

God can use you as one of those tools to help others –even today. Your words, your actions, your kindness, your presence matters. It  may be the very help that some are looking for

Roger